Council tax will not go up this year after Town Hall finance chiefs accepted a hand out from the government.

As reported in the Gazette, Islington Council was unsure whether to accept the �2million because it was only guaranteed for one year.

Because council tax can only go up a maximum of 3.5 per cent a year, they were concerned that not raising it this year would limit how much cash they can raise in 2013, when they need to save a further �15million.

Now, the council has begun a campaign to persuade Eric Pickles, the local government secretary, to safeguard this grant for four years.

giving financial security and helping the council make long term plans.

Cllr Catherine West, leader of Islington Council, has written to Mr Pickles personally to plea the council’s case.

She said: “We are trying to explain to the government that while the grant and freezing council tax is a is a good thing, it needs to be sustained. To plan properly we need a grant to see us through the next four years.“

“We only want to put council tax up when there is no other option – we want the government to help us with all the good work we have been doing.

“They need to see the bigger picture. Making such cuts to local government ends up having a knock on effect on the London economy as a whole.”